Ever since he was adopted from the Canterlot orphanage, Simply Brilliant was a somewhat troublesome child. When his parents first adopted him, they had no idea what they were in for. He would shout at random for no reason. He would throw things across the room, saying his friends told him to do it. He would talk to himself for hours on end, pretending like he was talking to someone. This got him teased in school relentlessly. He wondered why the other children couldn't see his friends too. Despite these things, he payed lots of attention. He would absorb the information like a sponge. The teachers would always congratulate him for the a's he received.
His friends would congratulate him too. As long as his friends were happy, he was happy.
But when he moved on to middle school, his friends would ask him to do things. Bad things. Bad things he didn't want to do. But he had to do them, or else his friends wouldn't be happy. His head hurts when his friends aren't happy, constantly yelling, telling him to do the things they said. They asked him to hurt other ponies, so he did. At first, it was ponies that were mean to him, ponies that deserved to be hurt. But then the friends started telling him to hurt completely innocent ponies. When he refused, his friends would scream and scrape at the walls of his mind.
One day, he found a rock, picked it up with his hoof, and started beating another pony to death. He didn't even know the pony he was beating, he just wanted his friends to stop hurting him. Luckily, the staff was able to pull the boy of the child before he killed him. As he was being dragged away, he shouted "I'M SORRY, I DIDN'T WANT TO, BUT THEY KEEP TELLING ME TOO! PLEASE MAKE THEM STOP!"
The friends were satisfied for a long time that day.
When his parents took him to the doctor, he told them about the friends. He told them about the things they say, the things they tell him to do, they things they do to him if he doesn't listen. The doctor's said he had a disease in his brain. They called it 'schizophrenia', then they gave him special pills to make the voices stop.
The pills have always done there job. The voices would stop, and he wouldn't have anymore headaches. He could finally focus more in school. He always liked school. He wanted to become one of the ponies that changed the world simply by making a good idea. He was born to do it, as evidenced by his cutie mark. A thought bubble, filled with advanced mathematical equations. He didn't understand them at first, but in time he would.
All throughout high school, the voices never said a peep. He was incredibly smart, but he was still taunted by bullies. He couldn't make friends, real friends, because he simply didn't know how to act normally among other ponies. He still payed lots of attention in class though, and when graduation day came, he was given an award for his intellect. The ponies in the stand stomped their hooves in congratulations.
It seemed like his life would finally look up for here on. But then, he was beginning to hear the voices again.
The pills weren't working anymore, no matter how many he took. Not only was he hearing the voices, he was starting to see the bodies the voices hold. They were horrid creatures, holding some resemblance to a pony, but having bodies that fought against the very laws of nature. He just tried to ignore them, but the headaches would keep him from focusing. He told his parents about the creatures, but they didn't know what to do other than to take him to the doctor again. When he told the doctor about the creatures, he told him about an experimental procedure, one that could potentially cure him, but it was extremely painful.
The words the boy spoke still ring in the doctor's ears today.
"Right now, the creatures are telling me to take your stethoscope and strangle you to death with them. Please doctor, I don't want to start hurting ponies again. I'll do whatever it takes to get rid of them."
The procedure was a spell that only the most advanced of unicorns could cast. A metallic wire would be wrapped around the spell caster's horn, than parts of the wire would be attached to the patient. Then, electric shocks would be sent to the patient through the wires. They called it 'Electric shock therapy'.
He still remembers the pain, but Simply know's that, without the procedure, he would probably be out somewhere, killing poor ponies to please his 'friends'.
He still see's them, but there not horrid abominations anymore. Now they look like simple earth ponies like he is, but they have pitch black eyes. There's only 4 of them instead of the large numbers they were. They don't speak anymore either, but they still can cause headaches without warning. Honestly, he wouldn't be able to tell them apart in a crowd without seeing there eyes, and since they always seem to stare at him, he could always see them.
He moved out of his parents house, and out of Canterlot as well. He told his parents he was looking for a quieter place to live. It was partly true, Canterlot in it's busier hours can cause headaches in itself, But the other half was that he wanted to live somewhere smaller. Somewhere he could spot his hallucinations easier. He heard of a small town a few miles from the city, a place called Ponyville. So, he packed his bags with as many bits he could carry, said his goodbye's to his parents, and boarded the next train to Ponyville.
When the train finally stopped, he grabbed his bag and began to trot down the aisle. As he was trotting, he saw another one of the hallucinations, standing right in the middle. The other ponies didn't even know he was their, but how could they? They didn't see him. Simply couldn't stop, lest he'd block the path of the other ponies. As he was getting closer, his headache was getting stronger, And when he started walking through the pony, his head felt like it was going to burst. He barely felt like he could walk.
"Hey, buddy." The pony behind him said. "You alright?"
"Yeah." Simply began with a lightly strained voice. "Just a bad headache, need to get off the train and get something to eat."
"I hear you." The pony continued. "The food on this train was terrible."
Simply laughed. The food was sub par, at best. He finally reached the door exiting the car, and already felt his headache diminish. He still needed something to eat.
As he looked around the town, he spotted what looked like a giant gingerbread house. He assumed it to be a bakery, and trotted up to it. He walked to the door and opened it, hearing a small bell go off above him.
"Coming!" He heard a female voice coming from the kitchen.
He went to the counter and waited for whoever was running the shop. The next thing he saw was a pink earth pony, with an even more pink mane, and three balloons for a cutie mark, appear behind the counter.
"Welcome to Sugar Cube Corner! My name is Pinkie Pie an-" Before she finished, she hopped up in the air, emanating a loud gasp, and ran off in a direction before Simply could ask for what he wanted. He wondered if Pinkie Pie was like him, only had a different way of dealing with what she saw.
"Oh, sorry about that dear." He heard another female voice, this one softer and slower. He looked back to the counter and saw a blue earth pony with a dark pink mane.
"That was Pinkie Pie you just saw. She's about to throw you a party for being new here in Ponyville."
"Does she do that to everypony that comes through here?" Simply asked.
"Yes, actually." She giggled. "Now then, what can I get for you, dearie?"
"Can I have half a dozen glazed donuts, please?"
"Of course." She walked back to the kitchen.
Moments later, she walked back out, carrying a small blue box with her. Simply assumed it was his donuts. She put it down on the counter.
"That will be 2 bits, please."
He reached into his bag, grabbing 2 bits and placed them on the counter.
"Thank you." He said as he grabbed the box.
"You're welcome. Now, be on the lookout for Pinkie Pie, odds are she's going to throw you a 'welcome to Ponyville' party at you're place."
Simply laughed "Luck's out on her, I'm not currently living anywhere." He reached his hoof out toward her. "My name is Simply Brilliant, by the way. You wouldn't happen to know a place with open residence, do you?"
"I'm Mrs. Cake," She shook hooves with him. "And the only place I know of is the Ponyville library, near the center of town. It's built into a large tree, you can't miss it."
"It was nice to meet you misses Cake."
"A pleasure to meet you too, Simply."
He trotted out the door. As he looked around the town, he noticed some of the hallucinations, standing around, staring at him. But with them, came the smiling faces and friendly waves of the towns people.
Simply was beginning to like this place already. Maybe things will be different here. He thought. Just maybe...
Simply looked upon the town library. True to Mrs. Cake's word, it was easy to spot, considering it was a giant tree. He trotted up the door, and brought his hoof up to knock, but before he made contact, the door opened to a small, purple and green dragon.
"See ya later, Twi. I'm gonna see if Ra-"
The dragon stopped in his tracks when he saw Simply.
"Oh, uh, hi there." Simply began "I'm here about the residency. Are you the owner of this library?"
"Uh, no." The dragon said "She's inside. Let me get her."
Simply followed the dragon inside. The faint, musty smell was the first thing he noticed. He always liked that smell, comparing it to knowledge itself. Spike went to the top of the stairs, and a few moments later, came down with a purple unicorn, with a deeper purple mane.
"Hello." She began, as she reached the bottom of the staircase. "My name is Twilight Sparkle, what's your name?"
"Simply Brilliant, ma'am." He said. "And, as I'm told, you have residency here?"
"Aah, yes, if you'll follow me." She said. She trotted to the doorway between two shelves and opened the door, revealing another staircase leading downwards. Simply followed Twilight to a nice little basement, with a bed, drawer, and a bathroom.
"We were using this space for storage originally." Twilight said. "But when we finally got everything sorted, I decided to hold rent."
"How much is rent, by the way?" Asked Simply.
"I'm glad you asked. This place is surprisingly busier than you'd think, so your rent will be a satisfactory day of work. 7 hours to be precise." She stated "Along with pay of 10 bits."
"I get to work in the place I live, AND get payed for it?" Simply said in astonishment. "This town gets better and better."
Twilight smiled and said "I'm glad you like it."
"Now that that's sorted out." She began. "Let's get to know each other. Where do you come from?"
"I come from Canterlot." He stated.
"Really? So do I!" She excitedly said. "What school did you go to?"
"Canterlot High, did you go there?"
"No, I went to Celestia's school for gifted unicorns."
Simply gaped in surprise. "I heard only a hoofful of ponies are picked for that school. You must be a very lucky mare."
Twilight giggled. "How I managed to attend actually has to do with my cutie mark." She pointed at her flank. "I specialize in magic. May I ask what yours means?"
"Math." He said. "When I was in school, I always payed attention, especially towards mathematics. When I was twelve, I took one of those advanced tests that they let anyone take. Initially, I was laughed as soon as I entered the room, but you should've seen their faces when they read my score. 99 out of 100."
"Wow. What was your missed question?" Twilight asked in honest curiosity.
"It's been so long, I couldn't remember even if I tried."
Twilight looked up at the clock on the wall. "Wow, has it been a half hour already? One last question before I tend back to the library. Why did you move?
Aah, the dreaded question. The question Simply was preparing for since he got on the train to Ponyville. Well, it couldn't really be a 'dreaded' question, considering Simply was preparing for it. Nevertheless, he was hoping she wouldn't ask it, he didn't particularly like lying to others, but he had too. He didn't want to risk being ostracized again.
"The noise was getting to me."
"Hmm, it is quieter here than it was in Canterlot, pleasantly so." She smiled, then continued up the stairs. "Oh, before I forget, the dragon you met was Spike. He's my assistant."
Simply waited for her to close the door. As soon as he heard the click, he did a full inspection of the room. 'Nothing wrong with a little paranoia' he thought to himself as he opened the shelves on the drawer. He found nothing in them. He looked under the bed, and again found nothing. He went into the bathroom, and saw what was about a medium sized toilet, and a shower with shower curtain. When Simply opened the shower, he jumped when he saw one of his hallucination there, staring at him. If he were younger, it would probably laugh at him.
When he regained his composure, he began talking to it. He knew that wouldn't do anything, but their was no harm trying.
"If you mind, I wish to take a shower." He said.
It did nothing, continuing to stare at him with it's blank eyes.
"Listen, I can't walk in there if you're in there as well. If you mind." He made a motion out of the bathroom. It didn't budge, as if silently mocking him.
He sighed in frustration. "This is a waste of time. I may as well just take a nap, maybe you'll move somewhere else by then."
He walked out of the bathroom, only to nearly bump into Twilight.
"Oh, er, hello again." He said. I really hope she didn't hear any of that.
Why is he talking to himself? She thought, as if to silently disprove him. when she realized she had been staring, she shook her head to focus. "I, uh, came to give you your key. In case if you ever wanted to, you know, lock the door."
"Thank you." He said, as he placed the key on the drawer next to his bed.
"Have a nice nap." She said as she went back up the stairs.
Simply went wide eyed when he knew the implications of what she said. 'Oh no, she did hear it. Oh man, she probably thinks I'm a freak, already rounding up citizens to...' Simply began laughing. 'You're overreacting, Simply. She seems like a nice mare, as intelligent as I am. more so, considering. the school she went too. Intelligent people talk to themselves all the time, right?'
As Simply began his nap, Twilight was pacing left and right in the lobby. Let's see, he's smart, so maybe he talks to himself too. I mean, I do all the time. But still, what he said sounds like he was having a conversation. Is it possible he's...' She gulped. '...Insane?' She thought about it for a minute, then giggled at herself. 'Your over thinking this, Twilight. Ponies like that don't have the social skills that he clearly demonstrated. She began walking up the stairs to read the rest of her book. Besides, if he does have any ...issues, then I will gladly lend an ear for him.